Able to detect the potential presence of spirits, EMF meters have become one of the most basic parts of any paranormal investigators tool kit. While you can purchase a detector for less than $50, intrepid DIYers can open up a world of infinite possibility by building their own EMF meter using the open source Arduino hardware platform.

This design by Make Magazine’s Collin Cunningham uses a LED bar graph to display the meter’s reading, but as with all Arduino based projects, there are endless possibilities for modifications. This project replaces the LED bar with a LCD readout. Other possibilities include combining the EMF meter with a camera trigger to create a camera trap or you could build in an audio recorder that starts recording when a spike is detected creating an automated EVP setup. The only limit is your imagination.